WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for River Churnet at Basford Bridge in England, United Kingdom, built from official government gauge data.
River Churnet at Basford Bridge is a gauged river in EN.
January is usually the high-water month here, with a typical level of 0.45 m (1.48 ft). July is usually lower, at 0.29 m (0.95 ft). That seasonal spread is 16 cm (6.3 in), so the reach does change enough over the year for a low bank, landing, or intake to notice it.
For people watching the river from the bridge or the bank, the main point is timing. Winter and early-year water is the higher part of the record; midsummer is the lower part. Temperate rivers like this one often follow that pattern, with the higher months carrying more water than the dry stretch.
The highest level in the station’s record is 2.16 m (7.07 ft), reached in January 2024. The lowest is -0.08 m (-0.26 ft), reached in April 2022. Those two readings show the reach can move from a modest winter high to a much lower spring mark.
With 50 years on record, these values matter because they give a working sense of what the gauge has already seen, not just what it is doing today. If you fish this water or keep equipment near it, the record range is the better guide than any single reading.
The hero number on this page is today’s reading compared with the median for the same calendar day across the station’s record. That is more useful than raw elevation alone, because a level that looks ordinary in January may be high for July, and a level that looks low in winter may be normal in late summer.
This station is operated by the Environment Agency. Its record spans more than 50 years, so the daily median has a meaningful local baseline behind it.
Readings come from official government gauges and are rolled into daily records: the daily mean, high and low for every day on record. Each calendar day gets its own baseline from the full history, so the level you see is compared against what this specific date usually looks like rather than an annual average.
Real-time water levels, forecasts, and alerts for lakes and rivers across Canada, the US and the UK. Built on official government data.
Nibi Metrics tracks more than 13,000 gauged lakes and rivers across Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom, reading directly from official federal monitoring networks: the Water Survey of Canada, the United States Geological Survey, Quebec's provincial hydrometric network, and the Environment Agency for England. Every number on the platform is measured, not modelled - taken from a government gauge on the water itself and compared against that location's own historical record for this exact date.
The level right now, in feet or metres, updated as the source agency publishes new readings - for many stations that is every five to fifteen minutes. How today compares to typical: every location carries its own typical-for-this-date band built from its historical record, so a reading is never just a number - it is above, below, or near what this water usually does on this calendar day. Which way it is moving: a measured RISING, FALLING, or STEADY verdict computed from the gauge's own recent readings, with the rate of change - the difference between a flood ending and one beginning. What comes next: level forecasts up to 72 hours ahead, driven by the gauge's recent behaviour, upstream water, and quantitative precipitation forecasts, alongside live radar, lightning, and weather for the surrounding region.
Set a threshold on any location - a level, a distance above typical, or a rate of climb - and Nibi emails or notifies you the moment the gauge crosses it. Cottagers use it for spring freshet, anglers for river conditions, marinas and municipalities for operations. The scanning runs around the clock against the same measured data shown on every page.
Nibi means water in Anishinaabemowin. The platform began at a family cottage on Lake Muskoka, Ontario, where the spring melt floods the shoreline most years and the only forecast was standing on the dock, looking, and guessing. It grew into an independent, member-funded platform run by Muskoka Research Inc. - no investors, no data resale, and a privacy policy shorter than most cookie banners. The core data is free for everyone, forever; paid plans add automation like multi-location alerts, deep history, and reports.
Nibi spans the continent: every Canadian province and territory with active federal gauges - from Vancouver Island rivers to the Muskoka lakes, prairie reservoirs, and Quebec's hydrometric network - and the United States from Maine to the Texas Hill Country, the Ohio Valley, and the Pacific Northwest. Coverage grows where the water news is: when a basin floods, its gauges join the platform with their full historical records attached. Many stations report every five to fifteen minutes; most report at least hourly; every page states exactly when its gauge last spoke.
The core promise is simple: the water data is free, for everyone, forever. Live levels, maps, radar, and recent history never sit behind a paywall. Paid plans fund the platform by adding automation - multi-location alerts, decades of history, longer forecasts, and PDF reports - so the people who need more carry the cost for everyone who just needs to check the lake before driving up. There are no investors and no advertising deals shaping what the data says.
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